Review

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Concerto for Bass Trombone:

Arranged by Dr. Wade Goodwin

Bass trombone and piano

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2022
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and solo part.

Primary Genre: Solo Bass/Contrabass Trombone - with piano

Wade Goodwin’s arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s trombone concerto of 1877 expands access to this iconic solo through a transposed edition for the bass trombone. Adhering to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Complete Collected Works, Vol.25 (Полное собрание сочинений), edited by Yevgeny Markov (1950), and various editions published in the United States, this lower-pitched performance edition provides an alternative approach and interpretation of the work for the low brass soloist. Goodwin’s transcription and arrangement strives to aid legibility through the helpful layout of the solo part over six pages and the removal of staccato marks, especially those involving slurs or phrasing markings. Pitched a fourth lower, spanning DD-f¹, it includes phrasing that spans a longer musical line, conveying alternate rhythmic emphases than previous editions. This edition employs several enharmonic respellings of chromatic neighbor tones, novel breath markings to accommodate a lower pitched solo instrument, and the occasional unbracketed courtesy accidental. The second and third movement cadenzas include expanded materials and figurations, with an optional cut in the final cadenza to aid a rapid conclusion to the work. The inclusion of a time signature for the closing Tempo poco meno mosso is a helpful addition as the 1950 collected works and a variety of editions do not show this change of meter driving to the work’s closure. For those interested in learning more about a recent scholarly edition of the original concerto for tenor trombone, I encourage your consulting Timothy Hutchens' urtext edition of 2018 (Ensemble Publications). Goodwin’s lower-pitched arrangement is a fine contribution, expanding access to this 19th century Romantic low brass solo repertoire literature for bass trombonists and tubists alike.